Security from Land-Attack Cruise Missile Threats: Considerations for the Operational Commander.

The United States will increasingly find itself faced with deploying combat forces in response to major regional contingencies. At the operational level, it is inevitable that U.S. operational commanders will contend with one or more hostile powers intent on threatening order and stability using advanced weaponry. With proliferation of land-attack cruise missiles, the operational commander is now faced with a ever burgeoning, and quite capable threat to his forward deployed forces. As with any other military threat, once recognized and validated, careful planning must be accomplished to mitigate the potential effects. Currently, the United States continues to place emphasis on neutralizing the tactical ballistic missile threat to forward deployed forces. But, the tide is turning, and many third world players are acquiring cruise missiles to replace or complement their ballistic missile inventories. Thus, the operational commander must fully recognize this threat and accomplish effective planning within the framework of current joint theater missile defense doctrine to obviate it. If planning and subsequent execution of defensive measures are inadequate, security of friendly forces will falter, and the maxims of maneuver, economy of force, mass, offensive, and surprise will suffer along with overall combat effectiveness of assigned forces. Consequently, achievement of the operational objective, and in some cases, the strategic objective will be threatened.